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Before I got my heart set on Dr. Fernandez-Miranda, I needed to do some due diligence. By an amazing coincidence, I learned that my dad’s wife’s best friend’s stepdaughter had her brain tumor removed by Dr. Fernandez-Miranda a couple of months prior. We texted, then emailed, then finally talked. “He’s a miracle worker. He saved…
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To recap my journey so far, my first opinion was with Dr. Idiot, who only found out about my tumor when I told him I had one and then said it was no big deal. My second opinion was with the team at Vanderbilt. They had been great, but I believed they were limited to…
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As my next MRI approached, I was smelling everything I could get my nose on. Stopping to smell the roses took on an urgent, somewhat existential meaning. I know that in terms of tumors, I’m very lucky. Everyone who has looked at my MRIs has concluded that the tumor is likely benign. Too many friends…
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That’s all I can think of right now…
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I’m very good at compartmentalizing. For most of the next six months, I didn’t worry much about my looming brain surgery and loss of one and a half of my five senses. Well, maybe a bit. I realized that between the neuropathy and my age-related hearing and vision issues, smell and taste were the only…
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In one of my follow-up visits with the brain surgeon – who I really like but I swear to god looks like he’s 14 years old – he described the procedure he would use to remove the tumor. He called the surgery “transnasal” and it’s exactly what it sounds like. They go through the nostrils.…
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With both peripheral neuropathy and a meningioma, I began to get regular brain MRIs every six months or so. I switched my care to a neurologist at Vanderbilt who specializes in neuropathy. She listened to what I told her about my personal assessment and self-treatment, ordered more blood tests, and eventually classified the neuropathy as…
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In late 2020, I experienced concerning symptoms leading to a self-diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. An MRI revealed no MS but a benign white spot and idiopathic peripheral neuropathy. Through research, I improved my condition with supplements. A follow-up MRI unexpectedly revealed a benign meningioma, which my neurologist initially overlooked, prompting me to seek better care.
Just Breathe 